Rachaya “Chel” Wattanasirichaigoon is a Thai artist and Landscape Designer, based in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Drawing and painting have always been a way Chel connects to a place and its people, especially now that she has moved far away from her hometown, art lets her reflect her inner self more than ever. Her interest has always been around the making of places and their environment; taking her from a licensed Architect in Bangkok to her pursuit of a Master’s in Landscape Architecture and Urban Design at Harvard University Graduate School of Design. 

Through the eyes of a designer, Chel is always curious about the creation of a place, and she talks to herself and understands through drawing. Chel finds drawing to be an integral part of her professional career in design and her life. Chel’s approach to art is to communicate her personal experience and feelings as sincerely as possible. Chel shares her work in different mediums; in a self-published sketchbook “Tokyo Summer Internship” which captures her journey as an architectural intern in Tokyo through watercolors and detailed drawings of places. In “Dern Doi” (Walk the Wild), she paints in gouache the mountains of Thailand on her annual hikes with friends back home, to remember the moments she cherishes. In Summer when Newbury Street of Boston opens up, Chel has joined the parade of performers to draw portraits every Sunday afternoon, where she becomes addicted to learning about the city through conversations. Chel is currently a Landscape Designer at Reed Hilderbrand, where she believes in understanding nature, art, and culture to make better places.